The Hospital Realization
by TheNerdshipper
Summary: Penny is hurt and calls out for the one she can trust. A shenny fic.
1. Chapter 1

It was another Anything Can Happen Thursday and the guys wanted to check out a new bar. Being above all that as he was Homo Novus, he decided he would rather stay in and enjoy a quiet evening.

He had settled down in his spot when he heard Penny crying out for him. "Sheldon! Sheldon, please hurry!"

Sheldon wasted no time and quickly ran across the hall after grabbing the key. He was about to knock when he could hear Penny crying in pain. He had never heard her in such distress and it was rapidly worrying him. He forego his knocking routine and quickly unlocked the door.

He was unprepared for what he saw next. Penny was laying on the floor curled up in a fetal position. She was wringing in pain. She turned over and raised a hand to him. Her voice was barely above a whisper. " Sheldon, my stomach hurts so bad. Hospital... drive me to a hospital. Please"

For the first time in a long time, he felt afraid. Afraid for Penny. This fear caused something to snap inside his head. He was now Sheldor and his Queen Penelope was in dire need of help. He quickly ran over and performed an initial assessment. From there he ran and grabbed her purse and car keys. Surprising her, he swooped down, picked her up and started carrying her down the stairs. On the way down, he could feel unusual warmth that was coming from her lower abdomen. When they got to lobby, he laid Penny down and checked again.

"Penny, I'm not a medical doctor but I feel that your appendix is on the verge of rupture based on the rapidly climbing temperature. It would be best to call for an ambulance. "

"I don't have insurance Sheldon and I can't afford the bill. Just drive me please. I know you don't..." Penny tried to say more but the pain was ramping up. She looked at Sheldon and through the tears, just nodded her head. Sheldon quickly pulled out his phone and dialed 911. They were there faster than Sheldon had anticipated.

Despite her pain, she maintained an iron grip on Sheldon's hand. For the second time that night, Sheldon felt fear. He was afraid to let go of her hand. Afraid that if he did, he would lose her. It wasn't until they got to the hospital that they were forced to let go. Surprisingly it was Sheldon that didn't want to release his grip.

He has an intense dissatisfaction to hospitals. Crawling with diseases, pathogens and who knows what else. Penny's condition however took greater precedence. A nurse had asked about his relationship to Penny. Sheldon indicated that he was Penny's durable power of attorney. Given the sudden appearance of the situation he did not grab the paperwork before they left. However they were filed with a well known law office down the street. Before leaving for the Artic, Penny and Sheldon were made each other Power of Attorney. Despite his attitude towards Priya, even Sheldon recognized that she was an extremely talented lawyer and had her everything. A wise move on his part as she found and revised a number of items that greatly enhanced everything.

What felt like forever, a doctor came out and escorted Sheldon to a private waiting room and explained that it was indeed appendicitis as he initially suspected and that surgery was needed. They were also fortunate that they came in when they did. A few more hours and things would have been dramatically worse. While the doctor was explaining everything, a nurse joined them. Penny had gone under for the surgery. While being prepped for the procedure, Penny gave the nurse the PennyBlossom she was wearing and told her to give it to Sheldon. The doctor and nurse excused themselves. On their way out, the doctor informed Sheldon that he has use of the private waiting room until Penny was assigned a room for overnight observation following her surgery.

Sheldon spent the next hour trying to contact the guys. When they saw it was Sheldon calling, they each turned off their phones. Each of them were all Penny's friend. Yet in darkest hour, they all rejected Sheldon's call.

The surgery, while successful, had some complications. There would be no lasting damage, but the doctors wanted her to stay an extra day for some additional testing and observations.

The guys came home later than they anticipated. They ran into some grad students and had a long but pleasant conversation about various Sci-Fi shows.

When Sheldon never answered his door, Leonard figured he was sound asleep. Whatever crisis he must of had, it couldn't have been that bad since there was no note or anything else.

The next morning Leonard woke up to an eerily quiet apartment. He tried to recall Sheldon's phone call the night before nothing came to mind so he continued getting ready for work. He still had some sort of lingering thought that he was missing an important detail. More of the call came back to him. Something about sick, hospital, urgent...

"Oh no, code Milky Green, code Milky Green!" And with that, he flew out the door to work. He was not dealing with a sick Sheldon today.

During lunch, the trio was talking about the great conversation they had last night when stop by.

"Gentlemen, I granted his vacation request time for today through next week. In my excitement to have a break from him, I failed to inform him that I still want the draft for his funding request . If you see him, please inform him."

They waited until he walked away.

"What the frak Leonard, I thought you said it was a code Milky Green."

"Even when he is sick, he still manages to provide me with a list of objectives to focus on. I didn't get anything from his this morning." Raj added in with a perplexed expression.

"Guys, I think we are missing out on the bigger picture here. If Sheldon is gone for vacation all next week, it going to be a glorious 'Anything can happen week' !"

"Bernadette's job is having some conference at headquarters next week so I'll be free."

"Sheldon is my boss. It not like him to disappear like this. What did he say last night?"

Leonard scratched his head a moment. He said something about hospital, sick and urgent. I figured he got sick. More so when I woke up and the place was quiet."

Howard piped in "Isn't his meemaw getting up there in age? Maybe something happened to her?"

Leonard got excited. "You're right. A few weeks ago his mom called saying something about his meemaw looking under the weather. It obvious he took off right away."

The three of them continued to make plans completely unaware that Sheldon was sitting by Penny's beside at the hospital.

Penny slowly opened her eyes. She still had some pain in her stomach but it felt different. Looking around the room, she was realized that she was in a hospital but has a fuzzy recollection of what happened since last night. She tried to sit up, but that caused her to moan in pain. Front the chair that she didn't see, Sheldon woke up shouting "Danger, Danger!" Seeing that Penny was awake, he quickly jumped up.

"Sheldon?! What are you doing here? What happened?"

Sheldon explained what happened from when she first started calling out for help. He explained staying with her and never leaving her side unless he was forced away by a doctor. Penny's eyes started to water up.

"Penny, are you in pain and discomfort? I shall call for the nurse right away!"

"Sheldon, no, well yes I'm in pain. You really are my Sheldor. I can't believe that you carried me down the stairs. I can't believe you would stay. I know how much you hate hospitals. Germs and all. "

"Penny, your well-being is a critical component of my well-being. Your were in distress and I could not stand the thought of prolonging it if I could help it. You have wormed your way into my every day routines. I have made many attempts to eradicate the disturbances, but have grown to anticipate them. In some cases I enjoy them. Despite your indulging of alcoholic drinks, you maintain a physique that would suggest optimal health and beauty."

Sheldon cheeks started to burn and quickly turned away. Even in her condition, Penny saw Sheldon blush. Granted it took a long time, years in fact, but she developed a 'Sheldon Filter' per se. Not counting the science stuff but the general everyday babble is something that Penny can effectively translate... for the most part. Seeing Sheldon blush and turn away like he did was enough to confirm the he did just say the he likes her more than he should and found her attractive. She wanted to press it a little more but decided to let it go for now. Changing the subject, she asked if the guys would be visiting later.

After explaining being hung up on and phones turned off, Sheldon really had no idea about the guys were enough to make Penny want to get out of bed.

"Penny, please. You are being held for observations. It would not be in your best interest to go Junior Rodeo. Though you have been promising to do so and I'm curious to what that actually entails."

For a person who schedules his bowel movement, having Sheldon here is a big deal for him. She was tired and still in some pain. Before long, she was asleep again. Sheldon, seeing her fall asleep, tucked the blanket up around her. He found a comfortable spot in the chair and fell asleep himself.

Later that night back in the apartment, Leonard realized his phone was off when he tried to order some Thai for him, Howard and Raj. Turning it on, he saw several voicemails from Sheldon. He ignored them all and called in the order. His craziness can wait.

Howard and Raj showed up a little bit later. "Bernie left this afternoon to visit with her parents over the weekend before her conference. She said that as long I have the place picked up before she gets home, I'm free to party all week! I was thinking that since Sheldon is not here, let go to Vegas. Since Raj and I were already going to crash here, we are already packed." Leonard agreed and quickly packed some stuff and soon they were off down the stairs.

"Hmm, that odd. Penny's car is still here. I haven't heard and seen from here all day."

"Leonard, you know that ship sailed, let get out of here."

Agreeing with Howard, Leonard opened up his car and they all loaded up.

Back at the hospital, Penny developed a slight infection at the surgery site. A round of antibiotic treatment would clear it up, but it meant she wasn't going to be released until Monday. Sheldon refused to leave her side anymore than absolutely necessary. It was only during testing when she was taken away did Sheldon dare leave to grab a bite to eat or whatever he needed to do. Just as soon as she was due back, he would be right back in the room waiting. She would have found it annoying a few years ago but now found it a little endearing.

The guys returned from Vegas Sunday night. After food, gas and hotel, they did manage to come out a little ahead. Parking his car, he realized that Penny's car hasn't moved all weekend. He started to wonder if Penny left with Sheldon. As much as he claimed to have loved her, even he could see that their relationship was not going to work. From the very first day, he saw the sparks fly between her and Sheldon. Them two had more chemistry together. After all the two of them had done over the years, they were practically dating. Heck, they acted like the old married couple quite a bit. Leonard chuckled a bit wondering if they would ever admit it. And thinking of Sheldon, even from the train, he would have checked in by now. Looking at his watch and calculating the time zone difference, he should have arrived in Texas by now. Unless there was a delay or two. Realizing he has to be at work the next morning, he pushed everything out of his mind and made he way upstairs.

Late Monday morning, Howard and Raj burst into Leonard's lab.

"Dude, we got a problem. Bernie just called. She been trying to get a hold of Penny all weekend. When I mentioned Sheldon and Penny taking off to Texas, she was confused because she had a workshop she was supposed to be at Friday afternoon. Worse yet, I checked the train schedules. Sheldon should have been in Texas already."

That feeling of missing some detail suddenly grew in size. Leonard pulled out his phone and called Mrs. Cooper. While yes, meemaw was sick, she had gotten better. She did not go to the hospital nor was there an urgent matter for Sheldon to run home.

"Guys, I really have no idea where Penny and Sheldon is."

Raj grinning ear to ear, "maybe they ran off to Vegas as well to get married!"

Howard grumbled about that being an impossibility. Leonard feeling rather sick pulled his phone back out and played Sheldon's voicemail message from Thursday night. His feeling of dread was soon justified.

"Really Leonard, you really must learn to answer your phone when it rings. I am fulfilling my duties as Penny's durable power of attorney. She is really sick and we are currently at the hospital where she is undergoing emergency surgery for appendicitis. It is urgent that you come right away."

The door to lab had barely closed before the guys were halfway down the hall.


	2. Chapter 2

School is starting soon and I wanted to try and finish this story as well as the others I have started.

Back at the apartment, Sheldon and Penny were packing. "Dear?" she called out. "It looks like Leonard is calling." Popping out from his bedroom, Sheldon said to let it go to voicemail. They had all weekend to call and he'll deal with them later. Most of the time it was "sweetie" and every now and then it was "honey." Since last night at the hospital, it been "dear." He wouldn't admit to it, but he liked it. Perhaps far more than he should.

In between tests and doctor visits, Penny and Sheldon spent the time talking. At first it was science stuff where she half ignored it. Sheldon tried to listen when it was about fashion or tv or whatever, but that didn't last too long. Somehow, the topics turned to childhood stories. She started seeing Sheldon in a new light. The more they talked, the more she saw Sheldon for who he really was. Taking away his schedules, routines, self-built walls and bad influences, Penny was stunned who was left behind. The more they talked, the more she fell in love with Sheldon. Yes he was scary smart. His brain was metaphorically huge with all the knowledge. As big as his brain is, his heart was just as big, If not bigger. Eventually they realized that they both loved each other. They were always there for one another. There was nothing they wouldn't do.

Not knowing how long Penny would be in the hospital or needing for recovery, Sheldon emailed President Siebert and Dr. Gablehauser requesting a week off from work for a personal matter. Truth be told, none of them cared why. Sheldon never took time off willingly. They granted the request immediately. Seeing how Penny was making rapid progress, he suggested that after Penny was released, they should get away for a few days to Monterey. The quiet coastal city had major facilities should something happen, but still small enough to be relaxing. Penny smiled and simply said okay.

She been sitting in her spot when she was getting anxious to get going. She didn't want to be around the guys when they finally figured out they screwed up... again. She popped into Sheldon's room. She couldn't put a finger on it, but something wasn't right. He had just zipped up the suitcase when he noticed her. Without a word, he escorted her out and rolled the suitcase behind them.

Sheldon left a note on the counter explaining that both him and Penny has gotten home from the hospital, everyone was fine and they both of them will be out of town for a few days.

At the hospital, the three walked in as quickly as they could without looking like fools. They approached the counter and explained they were looking the room Penny was in.

"I'm terribly sorry boys, but there is no one here by that name."

"What?!"

"If she was here but has been released, I wouldn't know. All I can say is that as of right now, this Penny you are looking for is not an admitted patient. Now if you'll excuse me."

Leonard thanked the attendant and suggested they head back to the apartment. If Penny had been released that morning while they been at work, they very easily would have crossed path.

Pulling up to the apartment, Raj noticed that Penny's car was gone. They silently cursed the broken elevator as they made their way up the stairs. Entering the apartment, Leonard went straight over to Sheldon's room. He too noticed something was off. Howard called from the kitchen saying he found a note.

Raj had been pacing back and forth while Howard called Bernadette. Everyone there could hear her scream as though she was right in the room. This was so not good. Howard promised her that everything had better be spotless when she got home and promptly hung up. What the trio didn't know was that she knew exactly what was going on.

Bernadette wasn't feeling too well Thursday night and had gone to bed early. She called back on Friday and everyday since. Although she was feeling better, she didn't want to risk any potential complications following the surgery. Penny had assured her that phone calls were good and that Sheldon has been a terrific bed side companion.

Leonard was not looking forward to calling his roommate. Sheldon had calmly answered the call. He reiterated that Penny and him were okay, they were taking a few days to get away and would be back before the end of the week. Leonard tried to apologize, but Sheldon had cut him off.

"Leonard, the Arctic was a forgivable offense. Despite the setback my career took while everyone else's advanced was still forgivable. This is Penny we are talking about. She has done nothing to incur this flagrant disregard. You hurt her at my expense. This may not be forgiven. I will leave it up to her to decide"

With that, Sheldon hung up.

The cold, calm tone of Sheldon's voice as he spoke about the Arctic was the scariest thing Leonard heard from him. He knew that he has royally screwed up.

"Oh my gosh Sheldon, I wish I could have seen Leonard's face. He probably wet himself."

"Eyes on the road Penny. You did not just recover from surgery so I can die in a flaming inferno."

"Truth be told Sheldon, it did hurt at first that the guys weren't there, or called or anything like that. However the time we shared over the weekend is something I'll cherish forever."

"At the risk of sounding like a hippy, I too, enjoyed the time we spent together. I am certainly not adverse to... oh look, I see our exit."

It was indeed their exit. Sheldon got visibly exited as they drove past the aquarium. It was indeed a rather popular tourist attraction but there was something familiar though. Penny has never been to Monterey before but she has definitely seen the building before and it wasn't from a documentary. Eh, maybe Sheldon will explain it later. He certainly seems giddy enough about it.

The hotel was beautiful. Their room had a view of the ocean. If she is lucky, maybe she can convince Sheldon to at least let her walk through the sand for a few minutes. She knows that he'll freak out. Germs and microbes and who knows what else can live in the sand.

She wasn't at all surprised when Sheldon suggested that for the rest of the day that they hang out in and around the hotel. Truth be told, she was a little tired from the drive. What did surprise her was that unless she specifically wanted to go earlier, Sheldon had planned the next day's activities to start around 11am. That way she can sleep in and enjoy the morning. Sheldon never saw the hug coming, but he didn't want to let go. Yeah, he thought, he was becoming a hippy.

The next morning Penny found herself waking up exceptionally refreshed. One might say that it was staying in a beautiful hotel. Maybe it was from having an ocean view room. To Penny, it was waking up with her and Sheldon wrapped up in each other's arms. He always woke up too early for her taste, but yet here he was still in bed with her.

After getting dressed, they spent the day wondering around the little shops. They held hands and idly chatted away about nothing like it was the most normal thing in the world. They had dinner in a cute cafe Penny saw when they drove into town. Sheldon suggested that after dinner, they retire early so they can be at the aquarium a little before it opened. He wanted to show Penny a few things. After having such a wonderful day, she easily accepted.

The next morning, she found the bed empty. Sheldon has gotten up early and was already to get out the door.

"Sheldon, I just woke up. I'm going to need a few minutes for the coffee to kick in. I need a shower and... and I need time to make myself look pretty."

"Penny, Penny, Penny"

"What, what, what?"

"While you certainly have an attractive physical appeal, I find that rather it is your personality, confidence and overall desire to never give up that makes you beautiful. I couldn't care less about what you are wearin..."

Sheldon never saw the kiss coming.

Of course it was from a Star Trek movie. As they walked in and around the aquarium, Sheldon pointed out all the areas that Leonard Nimoy had stood in or walked through. He is literally walking in his foot steps.

If she was okay with it, Sheldon suggested a light lunch so they could have dinner at a restaurant he had checked out. The reviews suggested arriving early as it tends to be popular. The reviews were spot on. Despite getting there early, there was a bit of line. After putting down their names, they waited outside on a patio overlooking the beach. Like the day before , their conversations were light and simple. If it was anyone else, they wouldn't have noticed but Sheldon had a slight nervousness about him. It followed him throughout dinner and as they left the restaurant.

"Penny, how would you like to join me for a stroll along the beach?"

"Along the beach or along through the beach?"

"Well, we are currently staying at a beach town so I suppose I can endure a stroll through the beach."

Grabbing her hand, Sheldon led Penny on a walk along the beach. They come across a large driftwood log and sat down. She could hear Sheldon trying to get his breathing under control.

"Penny, just before our exit on the freeway, I was telling you that I enjoyed our time together."

"Dear, I enjoyed our time too. This trip has been so wonderful"

"Penny, please. I'm trying to tell you something that is very difficult for me to admit. Please let me finish."

Penny nodded to let him continue.

"Now as I was saying, I would not be adverse to spending more time with you."

"Sheldon, we are a couple now. We're dating. I would hope so"

Sheldon gave her a raised eyebrow look and continued.

"I meant on a permanent basis"

"Sheldon" Penny tried to squeak out, " are you trying to ask me to marry you?"

"Isn't that what I just said?"

"Sheldon, don't get me wrong, I think what we have together right now has been great, but I'll cripple you financially. I don't have insurance yet as I still have a month left to go before it kicked in. I make too much money to get a low income reduction. I took an ambulance to the hospital, had surgery, and had to spend several nights there. The doctor costs, medicine, testing and so on. Do you really want to marry someone strapped with that much debt?" It was too much as Penny couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

"Penny" Sheldon softly called as he got down on one knee, " I want to marry you as I love you. For all my life I tried to control every aspect. Yet despite how much I try, you are a whirlwind. You are the chaos to my calmness. For how much I should abhor it, I can't live without it. I can't live without you. You have forced me to grow. You challenge me. In the end, you make me want to be a better man for you. You accept me for who I am. Penny, the truth is that I would rather have you in my life than not at all. I've dedicated my life to getting the Nobel prize in physics. What I've come to realize in the hospital is that you are the Nobel prize I really needed all along.

Penny was a sobbing mess as she shook her head yes. Sheldon produced a small ring that in the middle contained 2 small gems. A green and blue for their eye color. It was absolutely perfect.

They sat back down on the log holding one another. Penny did not want to let go. Sheldon's phone ringing broke the silence.

"Dr. Sheldon Cooper speaking"

Other than Leonard calling when they left, Sheldon did not take a call the entire time. His expression was eerily calm.

"Thank you, that is acceptable" and with that, he hung up.

"Penny, please excuse the call. The was the only one I permitted myself to take while we were here. You no longer need to worry yourself with your hospital bill as it has been covered."

"Sheldon? What do you mean it has been covered? How is that possible?"

"When you have a working knowledge of all the important things in the universe, anything is possible."

"That still doesn't explain what you did."

"While you were undergoing surgery, I knew that you wouldn't be able to afford the bill. As your durable power of attorney, I had the hospital designate me as the guarantor for your account. I returned home for a moment and sold all comic books to raise the money. Stewart was the middle man and had just called me to inform that he has secured final payment for he collection and will be sending the hospital the balanced owed."

"But Sheldon... you love your comics. Is that why your room looked different?"

"Penny, I love you. My memory will allow me to remember the stories. Your well being is my well being."

"No, I can't accept that. That too much Sheldon. No. NO! " Penny shouted as she tried to take off the ring. " I can't be in a marriage with that over my head."

Sheldon gently covered her hands with his. She slowly looked up at him. "Penny, you are worth every bit of it and more." He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss.

"Sheldon, let go home tomorrow and start our lives together."

They slowly walked back to their hotel hand in hand. Every now and then they would stop and kiss. That night as he drifted off to sleep, everything felt perfect in his world.

"Sheldon! Sheldon! Wake up buddy." Leonard spoke as he tried to wake up Sheldon.

"Danger! Danger!"

Sheldon looked around and saw that he was back in a hospital room. He had fallen asleep in a chair next to a empty hospital bed.

"Leonard, where Penny? When did you get here? What are you doing here?

"Slow down buddy. First of all, I was out at a bar with Howard and Raj. I got part of your message, but some static cut out every other word. I got Penny, Hospital, And urgent. I called the hospital but they said that visiting hours were over. This morning Penny called me and wanted me to come over right away. She got an infection over night and they took her away for a bit. She'll be..."

Sheldon couldn't take it anymore. Sure he was groggy after being woken up but the shock of Leonard's words was all he needed to hear. It was all a dream. A rotten nightmare was all that awaited him. He had gotten up and started walking out the door. Getting together with Penny, the wonderful trip to Monterey, his proposal, all of it was just a dream.


	3. Chapter 3

Sheldon had barely stepped into a hallway when a nurse was jogging up to him.

" , I'm glad I caught you. Your wife is having the baby now. Penny is asking for you. "

"You okay there buddy?" Leonard asked while clapping him on the shoulder.

Sheldon stood up straight. His grogginess was suddenly gone. It took a moment but it all came back. It wasn't a dream per se but him recalling when he first got together with Penny. It has been an amazing three years since that fateful night of Penny's appendicitis attack.

It only took about a month after coming home from Monterey before she officially switched apartments with Leonard. Ever since the hospital, Penny and Sheldon shared the same room and since Monterey, they shared the same bed every night. At first she would steal one of Sheldon's shirts to sleep in. Every Saturday night more of her clothes would appear in Sheldon's basket. She really only went back to her place to change her clothes for the day or outfits for work.

The following year. Sheldon had his big breakthrough and was getting his Nobel prize for physics. They immediately planned for and had a December wedding in Monterey. Their honeymoon was held in Switzerland during the Nobel Prize Ceremony. Instead of coming back right away, they used part of the prize money to travel for six months. President Siebert requested that Sheldon gave one lecture a month while he was gone but otherwise was free to do as he pleased. A number of the lectures were in other counties and Penny was all the more excited to visit them.

Then last lecture was held in Germany. While Paris was a dream and Barcelona was wonderful, the German country side won Penny over. Sheldon even managed to find a castle for them stay at for their last night.

They had an entire wing for themselves with explicit instructions not to be disturbed unless a dire emergency arose. Sheldon made a delicious dinner that they ate on the terrace over looking the valley below. It was hard for Penny to eat dinner. The view was one of the most picturesque that she had ever seen and she felt like her life was a fairytale.

Following dinner, that had decided to explore the wing they were in. In the conservatory on the upper level, Penny lit the fireplace while Sheldon started playing a piano. When she was done, she joined him by sitting on top. He played a few "whimsical" scores followed by a few classical pieces. He played what Penny would later describe as a deeply haunted romantic song. When he was finished, she slid off the piano and grabbed Sheldon's hand while leading him over to the fur blanket by the fireplace.

It was not their first time as they have joined themselves together numerous times since their wedding night. But tonight, among the dancing flames of the fire, they explored each other as though they were finding one another for the first time. The years of denied and repressed passion between them burned intensely. They each gave and freely took. As the fire slowly died down, they simply grabbed each other with more feelings. When all was said and done, they fell asleep nestled together with the fur blanket over them. For that moment, nothing else mattered.

The morning sickness started a few weeks after getting home. This naturally prompted Sheldon to investigate the possibility of getting the elevator fixed. Unfortunately the "Leonard" incident destroyed things beyond an economically means of getting it repaired. It broke their hearts but they both knew that living on the forth floor would create tremendous difficulties later on. They could make it work, but figured perhaps it was time to start a new chapter in their lives.

A few months before Penny was due, they found a cute bungalow type place near Caltech. They packed their immediate personal belongings and left the rest to a moving company that took Sheldon two weeks to fully vet the most qualified company. Penny took Sheldon to the train store during the actual move to take his mind off things. Coincidence or not, Leonard also moved out as well to a condo not far from them. While Sheldon and Penny were out traveling, he met a grad student. Things were getting serious with them. Without Sheldon in the building, he really had no reason to stay at Los Robles. Him and the grad student had decided to move in together.

"Buddy, did you hear that! Your about to be a dad. Don't keep Penny waiting any longer." Leonard coaxed Sheldon down the hall to follow the nurse. Around the corner, Raj appeared along with Howard and Bernadette.

Bernadette was in tears "Sheldon, I'm so happy for you two!"

The nurse allowed Sheldon to enter the room while sending everyone to the nearby waiting room.

Penny had a frown on her face that quickly changed when she saw Sheldon come in.

"Dear, I'm glad the nurse found you. You were so tired last night I thought I let you sleep as long as you could. Everyone tells me the first baby always take forever. And then I got an infection over night and now the baby wants to come and..."

"Penny, Penny, Penny..."

When she gets nervous, Penny starts to babble. Sheldon caught her on it. Softly calling her name three times is usually enough to get her to stop her run-on. She smiled fondly back at Sheldon.

"What, What, What?"

"There, there, Sheldon is here."

Penny started to laugh but quickly stopped when a contraction hit. It wasn't long but soon a little Mini Cooper was brought in to the world.

Epilogue:

Penny had decided to be a stay-at-home mom and balance that with becoming a writer. Several of her stories were turned into screen plays. She never became a famous actress but felt she gained something far greater than she ever hoped to achieve.

Sheldon semi-retired. Leonard kept him on board as a guest lecturer and part-time Caltech ambassador.

"Dear, everyone is going to be here soon. Your whiteboards can wait." Penny took the whiteboard marker out of Sheldon's hands and took him to the front room.

Sheldon was having his 55th birthday party. Everyone one has come over and brought their families with them. After cake and ice cream, he opened presents. There were various sci-fi and train related gifts. Sheldon loved each one of them. Penny said she had one more gift for Sheldon in the guest room. It was a special surprise. Sheldon rolled his eyes but Penny assured him that he would love it. They all followed Penny to other room and let Sheldon open the door.

When the door opened, Sheldon froze. He couldn't believe his eyes. Penny scooted him into the room. "Go on silly"

He picked up the first package and turned it over to the back. On the bottom right hand corner were the tiny initials of SLC. He grabbed another and another. There were a few times when Sheldon cried and now was another one. Laid out before him was every single comic book that Sheldon sold years ago to pay for Penny's hospital bill.

He turned to Penny who had tears in her eyes as well. "Sheldon, you once said that you sold your comic books because I was worth every bit of it and more. You have been an amazing husband, father and best friend any girl could ever want. You gave me a life I could never dream of. It took me a long time to find all of these. I did it because you too are worth every bit of it and more."

Like that night many years ago in Germany, Sheldon took Penny in his arms and kissed her as though tomorrow will never come. The gang took that as their queue that the party was over. They quietly backed down the hallway. They quickly cleaned up the mess from the party and left. The Cooper kids took one last look around the room before quietly locking the front door on their way out.

No one could deny it. Despite being an unlikely couple, Sheldon and Penny created a relationship that defied reality. Like any other relationship, it had it ups and downs. Sheldon could be as stubborn as a rock. Penny would be toeing the line with him. No matter what the issue was, they always worked out as though nothing ever happened. Separately they were both imposing. Together they were unstoppable.

They both lived to a ripe old age. They were laying in bed together one afternoon.

"Sheldon dear, sing me soft kitty please. One last time."

Sheldon sang the song with tears in his eyes. When he was finished, she leaned over and kissed him. With a warm, fond smile on her face, she closed her eyes and took her last breath.

Sheldon kissed her forehead "I'll see you soon Penny." He looked around the room at the life he created with Penny. It had been a life truly blessed with love and joy. He picked up his phone from the night stand and sent a quick text. He gave Penny a tight squeeze and kissed her one last time. While closing his eyes, he thought back to all of the wonderful and most cherished memories they shared. He gently took one of her hand. A warm smile crossed his face and with his final dying breath, Sheldon whispered "Penny, Penny, Penny" and then joined her in the great beyond.


End file.
